Eagles Starting Jobs, Roster Spots Still Up For Grabs

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There is one preseason game remaining, but there is still much to be settled when it comes to the Eagles roster.

With the top units sitting out Thursday night’s preseason finale with the Jets, several backups will be playing for a chance to remain on the roster. There are still a host of job battles both on offense and defense, and Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis admits the roster moves will be difficult.

“They’re real hard decisions,” said Davis. “You agonize over which way you go, and that means the roster is growing and we’re getting strong and stronger with our depth. It’s hard on us, but it’s a positive for the organization.”

While some players are fighting to keep their jobs, others are looking to grab a starting spot. The secondary has two positions in which players are battling for the top spot. One of those battles is taking place at cornerback, where newcomer Nolan Carroll is competing with returning starter Bradley Fletcher.

“Nothing’s in stone yet,” Davis said. “I don’t want to go ahead with another game left and say who is the starter and who is not. A lot of it is pretty much there. I would say it’s still all penciled in. Anything can happen. We’ve got another two weeks of practice and another game, so it’s getting closer and closer.”

The other battle is at safety, where Nate Allen and Earl Wolff have been given plenty of opportunities throughout the preseason. Davis said Allen had the lead in the battle, but that the competition was not over just yet. Allen says he is used to going through job battles at this stage of his career.

“That’s the way it is,” said Allen. “That’s the NFL and there’s always going to be new guys coming in. Competition just makes everybody better. I’m happy with what I’m doing and I’m not worried about where I am on the depth chart. I’m just going out to work every day.”

The players who already have starting spots will likely watch from the sidelines on Thursday. Other top players continue to recover from minor injuries. LeSean McCoy injured his thumb in last Thursday’s preseason game, but has been back at practice since Saturday.

“The thumb is good,” McCoy said. “Right now, I haven’t been doing too much with it as far as catching with it and running with it. I’ve got really two weeks to get it together, and I will.”

The Eagles will hold another practice on Monday and will then have a walk through on Tuesday.